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Thursday, September 18, 2008

So there are days when I wake up and really feel like: I want to change the world today! Then I get a little frustrated because really, what can I do? Little ol’ Regina—super busy grad student, compliance worker, renaissance braider who spends most of her time trying to keep her head above water. I mean, my phone book, friends lists, and picture frames are filled with people I love deeply, but who I have a hard time keeping up with. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard lately: “I miss you” or “I really miss our times together.” And every time I feel a wee bit guilty because, you know, I miss them too! I wish I had time in the day for everything I wanted to do. But alas, time gets claimed by work, by school, and by whatever lucky thing that happens to snatch up what’s left over.

But in my reading today for grad school, I came upon this passage by Helen Keller: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mightly shoves of its heros, but the the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”

So maybe right now I have to be happy with the tiny pushes: a stolen moment, a heartfelt hug, a brief conversation, a well-timed text message, whatever the diversion before I have to run back to the demands of my schedule. But maybe those tiny pushes, even though they’re small, can be significant. Maybe if I’m intentional with how I engage people, I can maintain my roots even if my branches need a little help.

Maybe, by being a good steward of the tiny moments I am given, I can be a world changer.